Adjustable support for motion picture projection machines



June 2, 1931.

A. DINA I 1,808,497

ADJUSTABLE SUPPORT FOR MOTION PICTURE lfROJECTION MAcHmEs Filed Aug. 18,1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 lulllllll June 2, 1931. I 1,808,497

ADJUSTABLE SUPPORT FOR MOTION PICTURE PROJECTION MACHINES Filed Aug. 18,1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 6n II I 13g June 2, 1931. A. DINA ,4

ADJUSTABLE SUPPORT FOR MOTION PICTURE PROJECTION MACHINES Filed Aug. 18,1927 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 VII/IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII I Will/m qiiiiilgifiiiiiiiiilllilllllllllilillilliiilii iill iii iliiliiiiii"avwamtoz Azgguaia [7272a $531 Qua/mu June 2, 1931. A. DINA 4 1,808,497

ADJUSTABLE SUPPORT FOR MOTION PICTURE PROJECTION MACHINES Filed Aug. 18,1927 4 Sheets- Sheet 4 Patented June 2, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEAUGUSTO DINA, or JERSEY CITY, NEwJEnsEY, nssreivoa T Inrnanarroivar.PRO- moron CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK, N. 'Y., A QORIPQRATIQN or DELAWAREADJUSTABLE SUPPORT FOR MOTION rcruRE PROJECTION MACHINES Applicationfiled August 18, 192?. Serial No. 213,715.

a new and improved type of pedestal adapted to firmly support motionpicture projecting machines and to permit relatively fine angularadjustment thereof, whereby the picture may be accurately positionedupon the screen.

Motion picture projecting devices are commonly mounted at the topandrear of a theatre and must beadjusted so as to project the picturedownwardly upon the screen which is placed in front of the audience. Theadj ustment must be accurately maintained since an extremely slightvariation in the line of projection will produce a comparatively largedisplacement of 'the picture on the screen. Furthermore, all vibrationsmust be eliminated in order to prevent disagreeable shaking of thepicture.

In large motion picture houses in which the projection machine ismounted in the rear of the gallery, the line of projection varies whenthe gallery is suddenly filled or emptied due tothe fact that theweightof the audience is frequently sufficient to cause a slight sag of thegallery floor. This deviation must ,be compensated for by a minuteadjustment of the projecting apparatus which should preferablybe madequickly and readily and'without interrupting the operation of themachine. It is essential therefore, indevices of this kind to providefor easy minute'adjustment of the angle of projection'as well as topermit a coarse adjustment thereofwhen installing the machine andplacing the'same in operation. Furthermore, the adjustment when oncemade must be rigidly maintained. The standard type of projection machinecomprises an upright pedestal having a frame pivotally supported on theupper portion thereof. The various portions of apparatus such as thelamp house, film magazines and projection head are mounted on this frameand are adapted to have a fixed line of proj ection withrespect'thereto.

' The present invention provides for a movable means for supporting thepivoted frame and for securing both coarse and ffine ad ustment oftheangularity thereof. A supporting strut is consequently provided,extendlng between the frame and the pedestal and forming in connectiontherewith a triangle, the length of one ormore sides of'which may beadjusted as desired. The fine adjustment -1s obtained by varying onevertex or pivot point of the triangle whereby the angularity of thestrut may be changed.

The invention further provides independent means for adjusting thevarious legs of the triangle formed bythe pedestal, frame and supportingstrut and for pivotally securmg said elements in their adjustedposition. Each of the elements maybe secured in any deslred positionirrespective of the adjustment of the other elements and may beseparately moved without interfering with-the position of said otherelements.

The coarse adjustment may be made by,

Although the novel features which are be- 'lieved'to be characteristicof this invention Wlll be particularly pointed out in theclai'msappended hereto, the invention itself, as to its objects andadvantages,the-mode of its operation and the manner of its organization may bebetter understood by referringto the following description taken inconnection with accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, in which 7g Figure 1 is'an elevation of a projecting machine constructed inaccordance with this invention. z w 3 Figure 2 is a plan view of theframework for supporting the various parts thereof,

'Fi-gure3 is a side elevation of the adjustable supporting mechanism,

Figure 4 is a detail plan viewpartly in section of the connecting strut,

Figure 5 is an elevation thereof, 3 Figure 6 isa section taken on theline 6-6 of Fig. 2 showing the jfine adjustment mechanism, I I

to be as genericin their application to similar parts as the artwillpermit. j 7

Referring to the drawings more in detail, the motion picture projectionmachine to which this invention has been applied is shown as comprisinga pedestal 10 supported on a base 11, which may be of any convenientdesign. Frame 12 on which lamphouse 13, upper film magazine 14,projection head 15 and lower film magazine 16 are supported, is

.pivotally mounted on the upper portion of pedestal 10 as at pivot:point 17 g -Although any desired form'of supportlng base may beemployed, pedestal 10 has been shownas mounted upon abasell'havingacentral j supporting. member 210 .to which sald pedestal is attached andhaving a. plurality of legs 21 extending therefrom, and provlded withsupporting feet 22. One of the legs 21 may be extended and provided atits end with a plurality of feet 23 forthepurpose of more firmlysupporting theimachine, A I

' Pedestal 10 maybe formedof a main section 25 and a tubular section 26slidable vertically therein I Suitable. means such .as a worm? gear 27 1attached to section 25, co-

operating with a rack 28 attached to section 26 may be employed foradjustingthe height of the pedestal. Split sleeve 29 (Fig; 4) may be;secured to section 25 and adapted tofrictionally cooperate with section26' for preventingunauthorized movement thereof. Said sleeve 29 maybeclamped about section 2621s by meansof'threaded bolt 30 and anadjustable Zhandle 31 inserted in the head thereof. .:Bolt 30 mayalsoserve as supporting means for yoke 31, the purpose of which will behereinafter described.

Frame 12 comprises memb r to" which the: projection head and the filmmagazines maybe attached, said member being pivotal ly mounted at pivotpoint 17 to the upper por tiont of pedestal 10. A pair of rods 41 may besecuredin member 40 andjsupported thereby, extending on the oppositeside of pivot point 17 from the projection headandfilm magazines for.the purpose of supporting lamp house 13. Lamphouse 13 may, beattachedto rods 41 by feet 42 ,which may be clamped thereabout. The particular.form of lampwhouse, projection head, and film denote like parts of thepresent invention and consequently will not be described in detaiL,

A diagonal supporting strut 45 composed Y is pivotally-connect'ed topedestal 10. "Rod 47 may be pivotally connected asshown in Figs. 6 and 7to a slidable yoke 48 having a "pair of'tubular sections 49 in slidingengage ment with supporting rods 41 and a central threaded section 50 bymeans of which the position of said yoke on rods 41 is adjusted.

. Threaded rod 51, located between rods 41 and journalled for rotatingmovement, is extended throughthreaded section 50. Rod 51 may be turned,as by hand adjustment wheel 52, for governing the position of said yoke48.

Rod 47 may be clamped in any desired position in tubular section 46 bymeans of split collar 55 which may be attached to said tubular section46 and adapted to cooperate with slidable rod 47 Suitable means such ashand screw 56 may be employed for forcing said collar into, firmengagement withsaid rod 47. v V V In the operationfof the apparatus thusfar described, in order to angularly vary the lineof projection ofa'picture, the length of anyone ofthe legs of the triangle formed ofpedestal 10, strut 45 and frame 12, may be changed as desired. Forexample, to secure a comparatively, coarse adjustment, hand screw 56mayfbe loosened and rod 47 telescoped in tube 46 until frame 12' iscaused to assume approximately the angle desired.

Pivo Point 17 may then be raised or lowered by loosening bolt 30 andturning worm wheel 27 whereby member 26 may be telescoped in mainpedestal member 25. When this ad justment has beenobtained, hand wheel52 may be employed forwmaking minute changes in the angle of-projection, rotation ofthis wheel causingyoke 48 to move longitudinallyof supporting rods 41 and thereby varying the angularity of diagonalstrut..45.

Obviously, one or more'of the abovea djustments .may' be omittedprovided the arequir-ed angle ofprojection may be obtained by theremaining controls For example, the coarse adjustment could be made bymeans of varying the length of strut 45, and the fine adjustmentobtained by hand. wheel 52. In case it is desired to varythe height of:the machine from base 11, pedestal 10 may first be adjusted. and thenthe required directionof the line of projection may beobtained byvmean-s of strut 45 andhand wheel 52- as above mentioned. V i c ,Inamodified formof support disclosed in Figs. .8 and 9', parts similartolthose hereto- G5 magazines employed however, form no part foredescribed have been given similarir efer ence numerals. The supportingbase, pedestal and frame are similar to those shown in Fig. 1and-supporting strut 60 may be at tached to said pedestal and frame inthe manner described in connection with strut 45. Strut 60, however, iscomposed of anouter tubular member 61 in which a threaded member 62 is journalled for rotary movement.

Member 62 may carry ball race 63 which cooperates with shoulder 64 andhousing 65 to prevent longitudinal movement thereof while permittingfree rotational movement. Suitable hand wheel 66 may be keyed orotherwise fastened to said threaded member 62 for controlling the motionthereof. Threaded rod 67 may be secured to yoke 48 and extended throughthreaded member 62 to cooperate therewith. Member 67 is however, freelyslidable in tubular member 61 and may be longitudinally adjustedthereinby rotary movement of said hand wheel 66.

By means of the construction shown in Figs. 8 and 9, both coarse andfine adjustments may be made by means of the supporting strut. The pitchof the thread on rod 67 may however, be made comparatively great inwhich case supporting strut 60 could be utilized in obtaining the coarseadjustment, and fine adjustment could be obtained by varying the pointof connection thereof with frame 12 as above described.

Obviously the pedestals disclosed in Figs.

3 and 8 may be slidably adjusted by any con venient means as by the wormgear 27 disclosed in Fig. 1. These elements have however, been omittedfrom Figs. 3 and 8 for the purpose of simplifying the disclosure.Suitable locking means (not shown) may be employed if desired forpreventing relative movement between hand wheel 66 and housing 65 exceptwhen desired for purposes of adjustment. The necessity for such lockingmeans, however, will depend upon the friction of the various parts andweight of the apparatus supported.

An apparatus constructed as above described, may be employed underconditions requiring extremely accurate adjustment and will enable thepicture to be registered upon the screen with utmost precision. In caseit is desired, however, to vary microscopically the angle of projectionduring a performance as, for example, to compensate for the effect ofvarying loads on a balcony upon which the machine is supported, it isonly necessary to turn hand wheel 52. This may be done by the operatorwithout in any way interfering with the performance or withoutdisturbing the other adjustments of the machine. Due to the extremefineness with which this adjustment can be made, the open ator may atall times maintain the picture in its desired relation to the screen.

Furthermore, the various clamping means prevent jar or vibration fromchanging the adjustment of the different elements during use. Thevarious clamping means permit-the length of the strut and of'thepedestal to be adjusted prior to placing the machine in operation andthen to be positively secured in their adjusted position. Smallervariations in the line ofrprojectio'n are obtained by themicrometer'adjustment 'at the point of attachment of the strut to theframe. The operator may thus make whatever minor adjustments arerequired during operation without interfering wththe preselectedposition assumed by the telescoping elements and the rigidity ofthevarious parts prevents vibrations from being transmitted to the ma- Ichine and from affecting the accuracy of the pictures projected.

In the drawlngs accompanying and forming part ofthis specification, apractical commercial embodiment of the invention is shown, but as suchillustration is primarily for purposes of disclosure, 1t Wlll beunderstood that the structure may be modified in 7 various respectswithout departure from the broad spirit and. scope of-the invention ashereinafter defined and claimed.

WVhat is claimed is:

1. In a motion picture projecting apparatus'having a lamp house,projection head and film magazines, a supporting pedestal therefor and aframe pivotally mounted on said pedestal and supporting said apparatus,means for controlling'the angular position of said frame, comprising adiagonal strut, said h lt strut being extensible for obtaining a coarseadjustment of the angu'larity of said frame, and means for varying thepoint of support of said strut for securing a fine adjustment thereof.

:2. A support fora motion picture appara tus comprlslng aped-estal, aframe, and a strut arranged 111 triangular formation, the

length of one of the legs of said triangle bemeans for said telescopingmembers comprising a split collar secured to one of said members andthreaded-means for clamping said collar about the other 'of saidmembers, and

7 means for varying the p'oint of support of said strut for securinga'fine adjustment of the angularity of said f ame.

4. In a motion picture projecting apparatus having a lamp house,projection head and film magazines, a supporting pedestal therefor and aframe pivotally' mounted on said pedestal for supporting said apparatus,means for controlling the angular position of said frame eomprisingadiagonal strut pivotally secured to said pedestal and slidably securedto said frame, said strut being eX- tensible for obtaining a coarseadjustment of the angularity of said frame and means for varying thepoint of attachment of said strut to said frame for securing a fineadjustment thereof, comprising a threaded collarsecured to said strut, athreaded rod secured in said frame and extending longitudinally thereof,

said rod being provided ith an adjusting wheel mounted at the rear ofsaid frame.

5. In a motion picture projecting apparatus having a lamp house,projection head and film magazines, a supporting pedestal therefor and aframe pivotally mounted on said pedestal and supporting said apparatus,means for controlling-the angular position of said frame comprising adiagonal strut pivota'lly secured to said pedestal and slidable on saidframe, said strut being formed of telescoping members, a split collarcarried on one of said members and means for clamping said collaragainst the other of said members for locking said strut in position,and means for varying the point of attachment of said strut to saidframe compris- 1 ing a threaded collar secured to said strut, a threadedrod secured to sand frame for operating said collar and an adjustingWheel associated with said rod and located at the rear of said frame, acoarse adjustment of the: angularity of said frame being obtainedby'telescoping said strut and a fine adjustment thereof being obtainedfor Varying thepoint of attachment of said strut.

AUGUSTO DINA.

